Everyone with something they don’t know how to sell hitches their cart to the much-abused horse known as blockchain. Now, the UK chancellor is talking the technology up as a potential solution for the Irish border. Print When asked about how he would ensure a frictionless trade arrangement between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the event of a Brexit deal that enforces a hard border, Hammond said that the “most obvious technology is blockchain”. It’s a vague claim at best, and...

The World Bank is preparing to launch a bond on the blockchain — the first such instrument in the SSA market to be issued, allocated and settled entirely using blockchain technology. The new product, known as bond-i for “blockchain offered new debt instrument” (and the famous Australian beach), will be launched later this month, once the investors have been on-boarded. The size and tenor have not yet been decided, but the bond will be denominated in Australian dollars and ... To discuss...

Marex Solutions, a specialist corporate hedging division of Marex Spectron, has issued a blockchain based structured note. It printed a “control note” at the same time, identical in every respect but cleared and settled through traditional means. The trades were privately placed and the issuer opted not to disclose their size, but they carry two month tenors and are in sterling. The trades are principal protected notes and offer a 13% annualised payoff should the FTSE 100 index go up by 2.5%...

When the shadowy figure known as Satoshi Nakamoto launched bitcoin in 2009, few predicted that the technology underpinning it would, in a few short years, be hailed as an invention as important as the internet. Capital markets are on the front line for disruption, writes Lewis McLellan. Email to a friend Print Twitter Virtually every industry is experimenting with blockchain technology, but fintech and capital markets will be among the first areas to experience wholesale...

KfW has sold Europe’s first blockchain-based bond, although a quirk of German law meant the transaction had to be replicated on paper. While the bond was instantly settled, those involved say a crucial component is missing if this technology is to become part of capital markets’ infrastructure: a cash settlement facility on a distributed ledger. Email to a friend Print Twitter The German agency sold €100,000 of five day commercial paper to MEAG. It simultaneously replicated the transaction on...